New presidential poll results set to be released

Elon University Poll results relating to the presidential race and the N.C. governor’s race will be released Monday.

The poll, conducted by the Elon University Institute for Politics and Public Affairs, surveyed registered voters in the state Monday through Friday.

For years, the Elon poll avoided head-to-head match-ups between candidates. Like poll results released earlier in this year’s campaign, however, these results will “include head-to-head results of likely voter preferences between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, including detailed breakdowns of support by gender and race,” an Elon release says. “Head-to-head numbers from the North Carolina governor’s race will also be released.”

Kenneth Fernandez, an Elon political science professor who is the poll’s director, said plans are for the poll from now on to look at “horse-race questions because that’s what people are interested in during an election.”

In non-election seasons, he said, registered voters (minus an additional screen for likely voters) will be polled about policy and political questions. Until recently, Elon University’s polls focused on North Carolina residents as a whole without attempting to take into account who was registered or likely to vote.

For most of the year, North Carolina has been considered a battleground state in the presidential race.

Public Policy Polls survey results released Thursday showed the presidential race tied, while a Gravis Marketing poll taken this week showed Romney with a lead of 8 percentage points. Rasmussen Reports poll results released Oct. 17 showed Romney with a lead of 6 percentage points and a Civitas poll taken Oct. 20-21 found a virtual tie, with Romney leading Obama by 1 percentage point.